A midlevel court has upheld the seizure of a truckload of untaxed cigarettes in northern New York that was ordered by an Indian tribe in Nebraska from a manufacturer on the St. Regis Mohawk reservation.

The four Appellate Division justices say HCI Distributors, a subdivision of the Winnebago Tribe, failed to show there was "a genuine out-of-state transaction" exempt from New York's tax of $4.35 per pack.

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They note the St. Lawrence County District Attorney's Office eventually released the truck seized by state authorities in January 2012. It also released most of the 26,000 cartons of cigarettes and cigars following a court order.

They reversed Justice David Demarest. He concluded in July 2012 the cigarettes should be returned since no taxes were due, no search warrant issued and no criminal or civil proceedings started.